Eleven days after the election and with over 250,000 ballots counted, a few close races in San Joaquin County are yet to be called while others have only been decided in the past few days. Here’s an update on some of the notable races:
Stockton Mayor
With over 40,000 votes and a nearly 8% lead according to the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, Christina Fugazi (D) is likely to beat Tom Patti (R) to become Stockton’s next mayor.
With her comfortable lead, Fugazi declared victory over her opponent over social media on Tuesday.
“I am thrilled to confidently say that my lead in the race for Stockton Mayor is substantial enough to call myself Mayor-elect. I am deeply honored to have the privilege of serving our great city,” Fugazi said in her post.
She went on to outline what her first steps will be as mayor: “As a first order of business, I want to take this opportunity to emphasize that it’s time to leave any negative perceptions of our wonderful City of Stockton behind us. We have a lot of work ahead, but together, step by step, we will move forward!”
Fugazi, an educator, represented District 5 in the Stockton City Council from 2015 to 2022 and at one point was the vice mayor.
Patti, an incumbent San Joaquin County Supervisor, told Stocktonia last week that he did not see the trend reversing.
“I don’t think a trend is going to reverse. I think it’s likely to continue as more votes come in,” Patti said.
State Assembly DIstrict 13
Rhodesia Ransom (D) has held a steady lead over her opponent Denise Aguilar Mendez (R) since election night. With a 14% lead according to the California Secretary of State’s Office, Ransom declared victory in a press release on social media yesterday.
“I’m deeply honored to represent the residents of San Joaquin County,” Ransom said in the press release. “The results of our hard-fought campaign demonstrate that people want proven leadership focused on solutions, not partisan politics and chaos. I’m excited to continue my commitment to service and I’m ready to get to work to deliver results for our community.”
Ransom will make history as the first Black person elected to represent San Joaquin County in the state Legislature.
Ransom served on the Planning Commission for the city of Tracy from 2009 to 2016. She’s also served on the Tracy City Council since 2016.
City Council District 4
The race for the Stockton City Council District 4 seat is still too close to call.
Mario Enriquez has held a small yet steady lead over his opponent, Gina Valadez-Bracamonte since Nov. 5. With more votes yet to count, Enriquez is only leading with a little over 430 votes according to the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters. Neither candidates have conceded or declared victory.
Enriquez is currently an administrator at the University of the Pacific, and recently served as Victory Institute’s director of constituent engagement in Washington, leading the programming for the annual International LGBTQ Leaders conference.
Valadez-Bracamonte is the founder of Stockton food bank Bread of Life, and has won several awards for her civic engagement, including Stockton’s Key to the City in April and the Minerva Empresaria Award from the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2021.
State Senate District 5
Though the race started out close, Former U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D) has pulled ahead to take a comfortable lead over his opponent local businessman Jim Shoemaker (R). The two are battling to replace termed-out California Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman in the California Senate’s 5th District.
With just over 180,000 votes, McNerney leads Shoemaker, who has just over 160,000 votes, by 6% according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.